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I do think some underestimate what Gomi achieved in his prime. These were his best wins between December 2004 and December 2006:

Pulver: Ranked 10th at LW at the time LW.

Kawajiri: Ranked 1st at LW at the time. Continued to be ranked in the top 5 at LW for 2 years afterwards.

Sakurai: Ranked 10th at WW at the time. Was ranked in the top 5 at LW for 18 months afterwards.

Aurélio: Ranked 7th at LW at the time. Continued to be ranked in the top 10 at LW for a year or so afterwards.

Ishida: Ranked 3rd at LW at the time. Continued to be ranked in the top 10 at LW until mid-2008.

He notched up a further 4 wins during this timeframe as well. His only loss in this period came to Aurelio, which he later avenged. I don't think he's a match for Khabib head to head - I think Khabib would maul him. Nonetheless, I do think his resume and activity during this period puts him in the conversation for best lightweight ever. He more or less fought and beat the best lightweights of his time, all in a 2 year timeframe.

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Gomi was great at his best and his legacy as an all time top lightweight probably is a bit underrated. But I don’t think his run really rivalled what Khabib is doing now. There were some really good fighters even back then at lightweight but it’s a different beast now. I mean, you look at Khabib’s top wins - I’d say the likes of Poirier, McGregor and RDA would beat anyone Gomi beat. And that’s not a knock on those guys, I loved Pulver and Sakurai. Being ranked #10 in 2006 and being ranked #10 in 2019 are two different beasts. Khabib’s ruling over a higher level of fighter and he’s also doing it in a more dominant fashion. Gomi was awesome at the time but aside from some of the quick knockouts, he never dominated his opposition in the way Khabib has/does.

Your post has given me the urge to go on Fight Pass and binge watch a load of prime Gomi though. Might just whack Bushido 9 on. Never tire of that classic.

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Another thing to remember is that Gomi fought 10 times in the two year span that I discussed. By contrast, Khabib last 10 fights date back to the simmer of 2012 - a whole 7 years ago. Also, while I agree that the Lightweight division is stronger now and Khabib's run is arguably better, the Lightweight class was still very competitive in the mid-2000s. In addition to the fighters that Gomi faced and beat, there was also Hellboy Hansen, Yves Edwards and Josh Thomson. In fact, two of them competed in the LW GP that Gomi won in 05.

Sherdog gave Gomi the fighter of the year award in 2005 over Shogun and Fedor. Jack Slack also described Gomi as the best fighter in the world in early 2007 when he lost to Diaz. I didn't agree with either of those distinctions, but it shows how critically acclaimed he was in some circles. The man was always flawed, he was a massive piss-head, and his career later suffered because he started to believe his own hype and became a wild brawler. However, at his best, which was probably during the LW GP, he was a dynamo.

I think it's a bit of an open-secret. His training partners, coaches and friends apparently make fun of him for it, and he told reporters in 2014 that he would quit drinking if the UFC gave him a title shot. He was also clearly sozzled at a recent Rizin show. I think he's pretty harmless though. I've never heard of him starting fights or causing trouble. In fact, in comparison with other Lightweight kingpins, such as Khabib, Penn, Aoki and McGregor, he's comes across as a decent bloke. Although that is admittedly a low-bar.